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Background <p>Early adolescence involves rapid physical and psychological changes that may trigger internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression. Traumatic experiences frequently co-occur with these symptoms and are established risk factors, yet the symptom-level temporal dynamics among trauma, anxiety, and depression remain inadequately understood. This study employs cross-lagged panel network analysis to examine how specific symptoms predict each other over time.</p> Methods <p>A two-wave longitudinal study (6-month interval) was conducted among 590 Chinese children aged 10–12. Cross-lagged panel network models were used to analyze predictive associations among five childhood trauma dimensions, nine depressive symptoms, and seven anxiety symptoms. Out-expected and in-expected influence indices identified key drivers and receivers in the network.</p> Results <p>Suicidal ideation (D9) showed the highest outgoing expected influence and positively predicted subsequent emotional abuse (C1), physical neglect (C5), appetite disturbance (D5), and irritability (A6). Physical neglect (C5) and emotional neglect (C4) exhibited the highest incoming expected influence, suggesting they were more likely to be predicted by prior symptoms. Anhedonia (D1) positively predicted physical neglect (C5), whereas motor symptoms (D8) showed negative predictive associations with subsequent guilt (D6) and restlessness (A5). Childhood trauma dimensions did not significantly predict any depressive or anxiety symptoms six months later.</p> Limitations <p>Limitations include convenience sampling from two schools in a single province, which limits generalizability, as well as attrition exceeding 30% and reliance on child self-report measures. Additionally, the absence of subgroup analyses and covariate controls, together with a six-month interval, may limit the capture of fine-grained temporal dynamics and biological mechanisms.</p> Conclusions <p>Depressive symptoms, particularly suicidal ideation (D9), may play a key role in predicting subsequent reports of trauma-related symptoms in early adolescence, whereas trauma dimensions may function more as receiving endpoints over a six-month period. These findings suggest that prioritizing suicidal ideation in early intervention may have cascading benefits.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>

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Longitudinal evolutionary mechanisms of childhood traumatic experiences on anxiety and depression in childhood: a cross-lagged panel network analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月1日

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  • Wei Chen,
  • Yuguang Wang,
  • Shienyu Fei,
  • Li Zhu

摘要

Background

Early adolescence involves rapid physical and psychological changes that may trigger internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression. Traumatic experiences frequently co-occur with these symptoms and are established risk factors, yet the symptom-level temporal dynamics among trauma, anxiety, and depression remain inadequately understood. This study employs cross-lagged panel network analysis to examine how specific symptoms predict each other over time.

Methods

A two-wave longitudinal study (6-month interval) was conducted among 590 Chinese children aged 10–12. Cross-lagged panel network models were used to analyze predictive associations among five childhood trauma dimensions, nine depressive symptoms, and seven anxiety symptoms. Out-expected and in-expected influence indices identified key drivers and receivers in the network.

Results

Suicidal ideation (D9) showed the highest outgoing expected influence and positively predicted subsequent emotional abuse (C1), physical neglect (C5), appetite disturbance (D5), and irritability (A6). Physical neglect (C5) and emotional neglect (C4) exhibited the highest incoming expected influence, suggesting they were more likely to be predicted by prior symptoms. Anhedonia (D1) positively predicted physical neglect (C5), whereas motor symptoms (D8) showed negative predictive associations with subsequent guilt (D6) and restlessness (A5). Childhood trauma dimensions did not significantly predict any depressive or anxiety symptoms six months later.

Limitations

Limitations include convenience sampling from two schools in a single province, which limits generalizability, as well as attrition exceeding 30% and reliance on child self-report measures. Additionally, the absence of subgroup analyses and covariate controls, together with a six-month interval, may limit the capture of fine-grained temporal dynamics and biological mechanisms.

Conclusions

Depressive symptoms, particularly suicidal ideation (D9), may play a key role in predicting subsequent reports of trauma-related symptoms in early adolescence, whereas trauma dimensions may function more as receiving endpoints over a six-month period. These findings suggest that prioritizing suicidal ideation in early intervention may have cascading benefits.

Clinical trial number

Not applicable.